Modern computing devices are typically equipped with or have access to persistent storage mechanisms. Some examples of persistent storage mechanisms include hard disk drives (HDD) and solid state disk drives (SSDD). These persistent storage devices allow for data to be maintained even during periods of time when the computing device is not operational. In addition, persistent storage may be used as an extension of a computing device's internal memory.
A typical persistent storage device may include a plurality of storage cells. These storage cells, at the most basic level, may store an individual bit, and as such, may contain the values zero or one. In the case of a HDD, this value may be stored on a magnetic disk. In the case of a SSDD, the value may be stored in an individual memory cell. Storage cells may also be aggregated for access. Typically, individual storage cells are not accessed directly. For example, multiple bits may be combined into a byte. Multiple bytes may be aggregated to form a block. Values are then written to the bytes or blocks, depending on the level of aggregation. The values may be written, retrieved, and erased, and may remain persistent even when the associated computing device is not operational.